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The Justice Department announced today that they will no longer impose case completion quotas for immigration judges that were imposed upon them by the prior administration.  The judges claimed that completion quotas undercut the judges’ authority and discretion to decide matters before them.  Immigration Judges are employees of the Department of Justice and they typically… Read More

In a memo released last week, Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas of the Department of Homeland Security wrote that ICE will no longer conduct workplace raids where undocumented people are employed. The real problem, Mayorkas emphasized, is “exploitative employers.” Mayorkas went on to say that workplace raids were used by employers to retaliate against undocumented workers asserting their rights… Read More

Last week, the Biden administration published new priorities for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) about which undocumented immigrants should be targeted for arrest. The new guidelines give ICE agents “broad discretion” to decide who are public safety threats and who are not. These guidelines are explicitly designed to undo the broad arrest policies of the… Read More

Why Hasn’t Your Case Been Decided Yet? Nationwide, you and millions of families, businesses, and individuals applying for immigration benefits are waiting longer for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to process and approve applications and petitions. Based on previously available USCIS data1, in Fiscal Year (FY) 2014, an average case took about five months… Read More

In a disappointing turn of events for the immigrant community, the Senate Parliamentarian ruled that the Democrats’ plan to legalize over 7 million undocumented immigrants couldn’t be passed via budget reconciliation. As we’ve mentioned on our blog, budget reconciliation might have helped the Democrats overcome the near-deadlock in the Senate to pass massive immigration reform. However, the… Read More

Last week, the House Democrats unveiled a budget reconciliation bill that would provide a pathway to legal status for 7 million undocumented immigrants in the United States. The bill would benefit four groups: childhood arrivals, people who have worked as essential workers since January 1 of last year, people with TPS status in January 2017… Read More

Last week, our blog reported that the initial Democrat proposal to offer 8 million undocumented immigrants green cards was rejected by the Senate Parliamentarian. Specifically, the Senate Democrats sought to bypass the Senate filibuster via budget reconciliation, which requires Parliementarian approval. In that blog, we noted that the Democrats had a Plan B: changing the registry date for… Read More

Earlier this month, the USCIS extended the time that receipt notices can be used for showing evidence of status for applicants who filed Form I-751. Instead of the normal 18 months, petitioners can use their receipt notices for evidence of status for 24 months. In other words, conditional permanent residents can present receipt notices for… Read More

The American Immigration Counsel reported that on March 18, 2021, the House of Representatives passed the Farm Workforce Modernization Act of 2021 (H.R. 1603). The bill, introduced by Representatives Zoe Lofgren (D-CA/19th) and Dan Newhouse (R-WA/4th), would establish a program through which certain undocumented farmworkers in the United States could earn legal status; reform the… Read More

The last few weeks have seen some major changes to the immigration landscape, from the federal ruling threatening DACA’s existence, to the significant rule changes proposed by Biden this week. Today’s blog will address those changes, as well as what applicants can do to build their case. First up on the agenda: a proposed rule… Read More